What is the Best Flea Killer

Where do fleas live? First and foremost, fleas live and breed on your pet which causes them a great deal of irritation, discomfort and itching. You will be relieved to know that fleas do not live on humans, although they do definitely bite us. Fleas much prefer a furry host, living amongst the hair on your dog and cat.How do fleas survive? Through evolution, fleas have developed a unique ability to resist insecticides and take quite some effort to eradicate completely. It is possible though. Continue reading and you will discover how this can be achieved.

Let’s take a look at the flea lifeycle first before we discuss how to eradicate these parasites from our pets and home.

Flea Stages

Stage 1: Flea Egg

The first stage of the flea cycle is the egg. An adult female flea first needs to eat a nourishing and hearty blood meal (from your pet); this step is necessary in order for her to lay eggs. Flea eggs are small and white and almost as tiny as a grain of sand. She will lay them nestled amongst your pet’s fur and can lay up to as many as 40 eggs each day.

When your pet walks around your house and yard, the eggs will fall off enabling them to spread throughout your pet’s living space. Depending on where you live, eggs can take a couple of days to several weeks to hatch. Fleas flourish in warm climates and the ideal temperature is between 70-85 degrees. They also prefer humid environments to breed in. So, if you live in the Southern and Southwestern states and you own a pet, you more than likely will have to deal with fleas on a year round basis. For other areas in the US, the eggs will hatch once conditions are consistent with survival. Once this occurs, the life cycle continues and larvae emerges.

Stage 2: Flea Larvae

Flea larvae will continue to thrive by eating pre-digested blood (a.k.a flea poo) left over from adult fleas. This is also known as flea dirt and no surprises here, but it looks like dirt. The Flea larvae are white and legless. If the conditions are sufficient, the larvae will spin cocoons and the next developmental stage occurs.

Stage 3: Flea pupae

This is the last developmental stage before the adult flea appears. Flea pupae can stay protected in their cocoon for months and are able to wait until conditions are favourable for survival before they emerge. The outer coating of the cocoon is sticky and robust which allows them to hide amongst carpet fibers, beneath cushions on furniture and anywhere your pet sleeps and spends time. Interestingly (and frustratingly), the cocoon is strong enough to protect the pupae from chemicals and insecticide. This is what makes flea eradication difficult. The adult flea will not emerge from its cocoon until conditions for survival are perfect and will first identify a suitable host (your pet) through the carbon dioxide your pet emits as well as their body warmth. This indicates to the flea that it can leave its cocoon to feed and continue the cycle of flea survival.

Stage 4: Once out of the cocoon, the adult flea will need to start feeding on its host almost immediately. Once the female has had her blood meal, she will begin laying eggs and continuing the cycle.

What is the best way to get rid of fleas?

Getting rid of fleas and breaking the flea lifecycle can be quite challenging…however, don’t give up! To ensure you eradicate the entire flea lifecycle, you must follow an integrated approach to kill them. The three steps you must follow include:

1. Treat your pet.

Begin by giving your dog or cat a pet bath with a fast acting flea killer that gets rid of the adult flea, flea larvae and flea eggs. This will give immediate relief to your cat/dog and reduce the discomfort associated with having fleas living and breeding amongst their fur. You will need to repeat the process approximately every two weeks until the flea cycle has been completely eliminated. You should consider bathing your pet with a flea shampoo on a regular, ongoing basis especially if you live in states with a year-round warm climate. After bathing your pet, brush your pet’s hair with a flea comb to ensure you have removed as many flea eggs as possible.

2. Treat the environment.

The next step is to ensure you have removed all adult fleas, larvae and pupae from your pet’s living space. In order to target the flea pupae, you must remember that their cocoon protects them for months if required and they will wait out until conditions are suitable. If your pet lives inside with you, you must wash all the bedding (on a hot wash) including yours and your pet’s. You must vacuum your floors thoroughly. Flea pupae will potentially be living in your carpet fibers. The warmth of the vacuum will hopefully entice the flea to leave their cocoon and emerge as an adult flea (this is where we will target the flea with our final weapon). If you have tiles, ensure you vacuum between the tiles thoroughly also as they can get stuck in the cracks and in the grout between the tiles. Thoroughly vacuum your couches and any other furniture if possible. The goal here is firstly to suck up any flea pupae. For any remaining pupae, we want to encourage them to leave their insecticide resistant cocoon where they will be hit with a flea killer. We have reviewed three flea foggers that are sure to do the job. Take a look at these flea fogger reviews:

Hot Shot Flea Fogger

Advantages:

Deep reaching flea bomb that penetrates every nook and cranny to hunt down fleas (and other insects)

Kills adult fleas on contact

Remains effective for up to 2 months

The Hot Shot Flea Fogger is a very inexpensive product containing a fine mist that is able to permeate into the cracks and crevices of your home exterminating fleas and other insects on contact. The long lasting formula remains effective for up to 2 months to help you control the flea infestation that may have developed (ensuring you treat all stages of the flea lifecycle for full eradication).

When using this product, pilot lights do not need to be turned off. Additionally, you do not need to remove any window coverings or bedding. The spray will not stain or damage your drapes, upholstery, carpeting, bed sheeting, floor coverings or paint.

Simply place a chair or box in the middle of the area you wish to treat as a stand for the flea fogger. Ensure you cover the surface with newspaper if you do not wish to damage the stand. Once you have detonated the flea spray, exit the area immediately and do not return for a minimum of 2 hours.

Caution: Use strictly as directed and follow the instructions on the bottle carefully.

RESULT: An inexpensive and highly- effective product that does not stain window and floor coverings. A very popular and well-known flea killer and not to mention, one of the best flea bombs on the market.

Raid Flea Killer

Advantages:

All round pest control fogger that kills fleas, ticks, roaches and silverfish

Effective for up to 4 months

Water based formula

Raid is one of the most reliable and reputable pest control brands in the industry. The reason that Raid boasts such a recognizable name and brand is the fact that it never fails to deliver and this Raid Flea Bomb is no exception. It contains a highly potent pyrethrin based formula that effectively kills adult fleas and other insects. As with all flea foggers, it will not kill flea pupae, so you must ensure you vacuum your floors thoroughly before using this product and you must repeat the fogging process as many times as required to effectively eradicate the flea lifecycle.

Pyrethrin is the active ingredient used in the Raid Flea Fogger, which is now commonly found in insecticides due to its lethal effect on an insects’ nervous system and low toxicity to humans. Pyrethrin is biodegradable and is gradually becoming the pesticide of choice due to other compounds such as pyrethroid being particularly toxic to humans.

Ensure you cover any waxed wood floors, wax furniture and stereo equipment with either newspaper or paper towels to prevent damage.

RESULT: Highly effective, low-cost flea killer with the added bonus of killing other insects on contact. One of the best fogger for fleas available on the market.

Silver Bullet ULV Fogger

The Silver Bullet is not just a mosquito fogger but is versatile enough to be used as a fogger for fleas and for treating told and mildew.

The Silver Bullet Fogger boasts a powerful motor enabling a 40ft expanse of spray, whereas competitor outdoor foggers disperse on average 30ft of spray. This bug fogger has been designed and built with incredibly robust but lightweight materials to ensure consumers are getting an ultra durable and heavy duty product when purchasing one of the best mosquito foggers in the marketplace.

The Silver Bullet is an Ultra Low Volume (ULV) cold fogger, and is operated using cold fogging techniques (for more information on the various types of foggers, click here). The chemical solution used in the Silver Bullet Fogger will be discharged into a very fine mist (rather than a gas) allowing the tiny droplets to disperse into confined, inaccessible and hard to reach areas. The benefit of a cold fogger as opposed to a thermal fogger is the ability to use it indoors as well as outdoors.

Almost any chemical solution can be used in the fogger depending on what you are trying to target, including oil, cedar, water based and insecticide solutions. If you are using it as a mold fogger with a concrobium mold control solution, it’s recommended it be used in conjunction with an ozone or hydroxyl generator to achieve the best results.

Note: When operating a flea fogger, ensure a respirator is worn at all times.

RESULTS: If you are looking for versatility and durability that comes at a relatively affordable price, look no further than the Silver Bullet ULV Fogger to effectively kill fleas, mosquitoes, noseeums and mold. This gets my vote as one of the best flea foggers in the market.

Fogging preparation

Some of these steps will apply only to the Hot Shot and Raid Flea Foggers (and not the Silver Bullet ULV Fogger), so use only that which is applicable to your circumstances.

Firstly, you will need to place any uncovered food such as fruit into your refrigerator to ensure no food is exposed to the flea spray as it may contain carcinogens which is harmful to humans.

Open all cabinet and cupboard doors, drawers and closets.

Transfer your indoor plants outside to ensure the plants are not exposed to the fogger spray.

Close all windows and doors to ensure the flea spray does not escape and is not diluted.

If you have a fish aquarium, ensure you cover it and turn off the filter.

The next step is vacuuming; thoroughly vacuum your flooring to remove any flea pupae that is capable of resisting the flea spray with its impenetrable cocoon. Vacuum the couch, between the couch pillows, behind the couch, the curtains, the carpet, the floor tiles…you get my point! Don’t miss anywhere! The goal is to not just suck up the flea pupae but use the vibrations and the warmth of the vacuum to encourage the flea pupae to awaken from their cocoon. Upon exposure to the flea spray, they will die.

To detonate the flea bomb, strictly follow the instructions listed on the labelling of the flea bomb.

Vacate the home immediately after detonation and upon return, open windows and doors for a minimum of 30 minutes to air out the area that has been treated.

Flea Prevention

3. Implement a flea prevention program.

The final step in our targeted approach is flea prevention.Our goal here is to prevent any possibility of flea infestation from re-occurring. To ensure fleas don’t come back, consider using a flea collar, tablets or a topical ointment. If you choose a flea collar, you must ensure the collar makes contact with your pet’s skin so the chemicals are able to disperse onto their fur and skin. Ensure you have cut off any excess collar also, as you will definitely want to avoid your pet from chewing on it.Tablets are another option; your furry pet will need one tablet per day to effectively keep fleas and ticks away. They are tasty and your dog will eat it up like a treat. The other option is a topical ointment. This can be a little more tricky to apply as you will need to squirt the ointment on your dog’s neck. However, it does last for 30 days and is water-resistant.

We suggest that a flea collar is the best and easiest best flea prevention method. You simply place the collar on your pet’s neck and away you go with 6-8 months protection.

Eradicating the full flea lifecycle is a very challenging and labor intensive process; however do not despair. It is vital that you don’t give up for the benefit of your pet and yourself. The products listed in this flea killer guide are incredibly effective and even if you don’t succeed the first time, you will have reduced the flea population, in turn, making it easier to fully eradicate the flea lifecycle for subsequent attempts. We hope you have found our flea killer guide helpful and beneficial and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at The Best Mosquito Killer.